An outraged commuter has demanded a meeting with a train company director and a refund on her season ticket because of delays, poor service and dirty carriages.

Lucy Russell, from Horton Hill, Epsom, contacted the Epsom Guardian in frustration on Wednesday after a week of being late to work.

Ms Russell, 38, who pays more than £2,000 for an annual season ticket to commute from Ewell West to Waterloo, has demanded compensation and action from South West Trains.

In her complaint she said: "I pay a hefty price for the use of this service and every day for the past week including today I have arrived late to my workplace because of slow or late running trains.

"I categorically refuse to put up with this level of service any longer and demand that someone be held accountable for it.

"Why should I pay for a service that doesn't meet my needs?

"If I ordered a meal in a restaurant that arrived cold because it had been sitting around for 15 minutes I would demand another and if denied this I would refuse to pay."

Your Local Guardian:

Ms Russell, an executive assistant for bank Santander UK, said that she and her fellow passengers had been systematically let down by the poor service.

She said: "The trains are late, slow, absolutely filthy dirty and we are herded into them like cattle.

"I want a meeting with one of your directors, a refund in my travel from Ewell West to London Waterloo for the past seven days and I would also like to hear what you propose to change so that these problems cease to occur."

She has raised the issue with Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling who asked her to keep him updated.

A spokeswoman for the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance said: "We're sorry to hear about the problems experienced by Ms Russell when travelling with us over the past week.

"We work 365 days a year to maintain and improve the infrastructure along our route to provide a safe and reliable service and will continue to invest millions of pounds to achieve this, and boost capacity, on one of the busiest railway lines in Europe.

"It is a challenge to access the railway to carry out significant works but we continue to plan for further upgrades to provide a better service to passengers."

Your Local Guardian:

She said feedback could be given at a passenger forum at Waterloo on December 10 and the customer service centre could provide details of compensation available for passengers who face disruption.

Ms Russell's complaint came during a week of multiple train delays across south west London and Surrey.

On Tuesday, October 22, shortly before 6pm a person was taken ill on a train at Crystal Palace leading to widespread disruption and hour-long delays.

On Wednesday morning a signalling problem at New Malden also caused delays and frustration for commuters.

What do you think about South West Trains service? Leave a comment below.

 

TODAY'S HEADLINES IN EPSOM AND EWELL